Doushikai
by Mental Baka
Summary: After defeating Knives, Vash thought his troubles were over...he was wrong. Hilarity ensues when four mysterious bounty hunter appear and move in with the outlaw.
1. Default Chapter

Okay...This is a story that 3 of my friends and I started writing 2 years ago. The wonderful and talented Jacki wrote the introduction here. Please tell us what you think.

Much to our dismay we do not own Trigun...but the four characters you have never heard of came from our own twisted minds! Enjoy!

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**Introduction**

**Thunder and Lightning**

Stan Wesling swung his feet up onto the porch railing and tipped his chair back. Reaching into the pocket of his vest, he pulled out a rolled up magazine that looked like it had seen a lot of wear. With an expert flick of his wrist he flipped it open.

Oh yeah, this one was his favorite. Stan turned the dog-eared magazine so that the image was upright. He carefully pulled back the upper and lower halves of the paper so that the centerfold stood fully open on his lap. The corner of his mouth turned up in a satisfied grin. "Absolutely beautiful, baby," he mumbled appreciatively to the naked woman stretched out in a suggestive pose on the glossy paper. "You can do whatever you want to me, honey, anytime you want." Thunder rolled off in the distance, but he took no notice. Probably just a mild heat storm, possibly a small twister; in any case, neither were cause for panic.

Stan wasn't planning on moving from his comfortable spot on the porch unless absolutely necessary. The sheriff had left earlier that day for LR town, leaving his trusty (if not somewhat dimwitted and lazy) deputy in charge until he returned. Stan didn't expect him back for another hour or two, which gave him plenty of time to kick back and relax with one of his most beloved reading materials.

He turned the page slowly and grunted in pleasure as he perused the next picture, a long-legged redhead, nude except for a pair of flashy red cowboy boots and a glittery cowboy hat of the same color tilted at a jaunty angle on her head, leaning up against the door of an old thomas stable. Stan whistled.

The sheriff had gone to LR in hopes of convincing the law-enforcement office there of lending him a few able-bodied men to help protect Panos town's water supply. In the few short weeks since the Panos construction crew had struck the large underground water vein, people had been flocking to the small village in order to see and draw water from the nearly overflowing well. Most of those who came were poverty-stricken families in search of free resources or strapping young men looking for a job in the blooming water-management business, but a few were of a rougher type. Hard men with a dangerous glint in their eyes and packing guns, what the sheriff had called "the toughies." There hadn't been any trouble as of yet, discounting the brawl that broke out at the saloon a few nights ago, but the sheriff had believed it best not to tempt fate. That hadn't been the only thing, though.

Stan looked up at the darkening horizon as a streak of heat lightening arced blue-white across the sky. Dust and sand swirled up in a dark cloud as a brisk wind cut through the desert. Stan squinted in the light of the first setting sun; he thought he had seen something dark moving somewhere in the dust-cloud. The dark patch wavered and was finally obscured by the undulating heat shimmers.

"Must have been just a mirage," he muttered quietly. He didn't feel too confident anymore. Now that he thought of it, he and the other deputy working inside were fairly vulnerable to an attack. If a gang of robbers showed up or even...even...

No. He didn't want to think about it. Ever since the fifth moon incident a little over a year ago, rumors about Vash the Stampede had been running rampant throughout the town. That had been the other reason that the sheriff had gone for some additional manpower. A little less than a week before the construction crew had struck water, a mob of about 30 people had captured two men, one of which who was believed to be the legendary outlaw himself (they assumed the other was a member of his gang). They had intermittently beaten and dragged the men behind their vehicles. In the end, it had been a woman, a petite newcomer, who had stopped the mob from killing the two captives.

The sheriff, not wanting to incite a riot (he didn't mention it out loud, but Stan knew that he was anxious to collect the reward money if the one prisoner turned out to be Vash the Stampede), had stood back and allowed the mob to continue with their activities.

There was another clap of thunder, louder this time, and Stan fidgeted nervously in his seat. He cracked his knuckles and turned to the next page, but his mind was far from the nude beauty in the picture.

That man couldn't have been Vash the Stampede. It just wasn't possible. He was blonde, that much corresponded with the general description, but when the mob found him and the other "gang member" he hadn't been wearing his red coat or carrying the huge weapon he was reputed to have. The group had acted on the suspicions of some strung out deliveryman and had grabbed what was most probably two innocent men and tried to kill them. Well, maybe innocent wasn't really the best word. Stan nibbled on his lower lip. He had seen the heavy bandages and deep, jagged scars covering the blonde's arms and torso. The blonde was either very stupid or a general troublemaker; innocent just couldn't apply to a person so heavily scarred. From the way he had acted when he was captured, Stan would have had to opt for the former. Unlike his comrade, who had weakly, but determinedly struggled to get away, the blonde hadn't put up a fight at all. In fact, he had confessed to his crimes and just about got on his knees and begged to be shot. Whoever this guy was, Stan firmly believed that he wasn't the legendary outlaw.

Stan yawned, stretched, and turned his full attention back to the wrinkled magazine spread out on his lap. It was pointless to worry himself over such things as Vash the Stampede. Judging by the humongous hole carved into the surface of the fifth moon, no one on this desert planet would survive if Vash really got angry.

Lightening, whitish-red and wispy, shot across the sky over the cluster of twisted rock formations that lay a little less than a mile southwest of Panos town. Stan caught only a glimpse of it as it disappeared back into the dark, menacing clouds that swirled above the area. When had those appeared? He sat forward and pushed himself to his feet. The magazine slid off his lap onto the floor. He took no notice of it.

The air felt charged. The bolt of lightning had long since disappeared, but Stan could still hear the crackle of energy that had followed it. He leaned out over the porch rail to see better, shading his eyes with one hand. The second sun was nearing the horizon and its fierce red light nearly blinded him. Starting at his fingertips, a tingle started. It moved up his arms to his trunk; his heart fluttered in response. Breathing shakily, Stan held his arm up in front of his face. All of the fine, dark hairs were standing erect. He brushed the rigid hairs gently with his opposite hand. A tiny bolt of electricity shot from them to his fingertips. Stan cried out in mingled shock and wonder. He stared at his tingling fingers as if expecting them to start spitting lightening out from their tips. Just what in the blue hell was going on here?

He looked back at the distant rock formations. The clouds had darkened to an ugly purplish black color. Lightening flickered white inside of them. The clouds suddenly amassed upon themselves and the glimpses of light inside disappeared. The whole mass seemed to solidify, and Stan felt the energy in the air grow to a point where he could feel the hair on his head sticking up.

A million thoughts were running through his head. Would this be the day that he finally bit the dust? What was going on? Was it Vash the Stampede? Stan inhaled deeply. His chest, feeling light as a feather, expanded; the air had a delicious and enticing taste to it. Lightening flickered again over the rock formations, lingering longer than the previous bolt. Stan could smell the ozone now. The light feeling in chest continued to grow and grow. Anymore and he was sure that he would float right off of the porch. The energy continued to build. His ears popped and the small muscles in his hands, fingers, and toes suddenly contracted.

And then it was gone. Stan opened his eyes and blinked. No clouds. No lightening. No thunder. It was if it had never happened. He stared disbelieving out at the twisted rock bodies in the distance. The dying sunlight danced around the jagged figures, painting them a bloody red color. That was all, nothing else. Besides the fading smell of ozone in the air, it all seemed as if it had never happened at all. Rubbing at his eyes as if to try and bring the images back, he walked inside the small combination jail/police office. Jacob Ingred, the other deputy on duty to day, looked up as he entered.

"Did you feel that, Stan?" He asked with wide eyes.

So he had seen it too. Well at least he knew now that he wasn't going crazy. Stan took a deep breath, exhaling through pursed lips.

"Yeah. Did you see the lightening?"

"There was lightning?" He leaned forward excitedly, eyes nearly bugging out of his skull. "I heard the thunder and figured there was lightning but I didn't think it was anything more than a heat flash or something. Wow, what do you think that was? I heard word that a typhoon, a real, honest-to-God typhoon passed through New Oregon a while back and maybe—"

"Jake, I'm going to head to the washroom." The other officer immediately quieted, concern filling his eyes at the weary sound of his coworker's voice. Stan entered the small room at the back of the building, not glancing up at the empty jail cells on either side of him. The cool water felt amazingly soothing as he splashed it onto his face. Feeling refreshed, he headed back out to the porch. He couldn't let the sheriff see him in such a state. Jake looked up from the pile of paperwork on his desk but didn't say a word.

The scenery was the same as it was when he left. The clouds and the lightening and the thunder hadn't returned. Stan eased himself back into his seat. His eyes darted towards the discarded magazine, but he made no move to retrieve it from the floor. The second sun was about halfway below the horizon. Beautiful bands of reds, oranges, golds, and violets, spread out in the sky. He stared fixedly at the display, ignoring the sting of the sun's dying rays. The heat shimmers were even more intense where the sun met the horizon. The land and the sun seemed to melt together in an ocean of swirling colors and lights.

Stan shut his burning eyes. The afterimage of the sunset burned bright blue-green on his eyelids. He opened his eyes slowly, the afterimage a dim speckling of dots on his field of vision. He stared out at the sunset and the dots followed. They merged and grew into four distinct shapes, black shadows framed by the fiery red corona of the sun.

Wait a minute. Stan blinked and looked down at the magazine. There was a faint afterimage—the round semicircle of the sun—but no dots. He rubbed at his eyes and squinted out in the dying light. The spots were still there. They were moving over the rolling sand dunes towards the town. Stan froze in his seat for a moment, shocked. He then leapt onto the porch rail, clinging to one of the splintered wooden columns for support. He stayed like that for some time, watching the figures, for that was what they were: human figures. As they neared the outskirts of the town the heat shimmers faded away and the figures grew more distinct. Four people, and although Stan couldn't tell for sure from his vantage point and in the growing darkness, he believed, judging by their slenderness and height, that all were female.

Travelers weren't unusual in Panos, especially after all the business with the well, but the fact that all four of them were female was. What with outlaws like Vash the Stampede running around wreaking havoc it wasn't safe for women to be out and about without a man to protect them. One explanation would be that they were survivors of one of the mass disappearances that had been occurring every so often in the surrounding cities and villages. Stan scratched at the stubble on his cheek. It was possible, but something told him that these women were somehow connected to the freak storm.

With a grunt, he hopped off of the railing. The old wooden boards of the porch creaked under his weight as he landed and as he walked towards the open door of the building. Pausing, he turned and glanced back out at the darkness-shrouded desert. The travelers had stopped just outside the town limits and appeared to be discussing whether or not to enter. Stan studied them for a moment. Several minutes passed, and they started moving again. Into the town. His jaw tightening slightly, Stan walked inside. It was imperative that he and Jake be on guard just in case these strangers proved to be trouble. You never could be too careful these days.

_So, who is this strange blonde person? Who is he traveling with? And who are these four strange women? Only time will tell! Please leave a review, it will be greatly appreciated!_


	2. A Warm Welcome

Well, this is the first chapter...written by Jacki. Vash isn't quite here, yet. He shows up in the next chapter. Please read and review.

Disclaimer: We don't own Trigun. Enough said! You can read the chapter now.

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**Chapter I**

**A Warm Welcome**

"Damn it's hot." The young woman used the back of her hand to wipe away the sweat on her brow, pushing away the wet locks of red hair that stuck to her forehead and cheeks. A snicker came from the tall blonde on the redhead's left.

"In another ten or twenty minutes you're going to be whining about how cold it is, Okaia." She quickened her pace so that she was walking in step with the redhead. "Baka. Don't you know how cold it gets in the desert after the sun—," she paused to look back behind her, "excuse me—the _suns_ set?" she finished, her pale blue eyes crinkling in laughter. Okaia ignored her question, turning instead to speak to the two dark-haired women on her right.

"Hey, so is our bounty here," she gestured towards the cluster of buildings that stood a little over 20 yards away from them, "or what?" The woman directly to Okaia's right stopped in her tracks; the other three followed suit and circled around her. They looked at her speculatively, the two facing into the dying sunlight shading their eyes with their hands.

The woman looked down at the ground and pushed at the loose sand with her boot. A few strands of long, dark brown hair fell loose from the intricately twisted plait that flowed nearly to her waist and she absentmindedly tucked them behind one of her ears. Frowning slightly as she stared at the simple, clay buildings, she looked towards the shorter woman standing quietly before her.

"Arana, do you sense anything in there?" Arana's large, dark blue eyes met her own brown ones as she heard her name mentioned. She nodded wordlessly and turned so that she faced the small village sprawled out before them.

"Yeah, Ayashi, what does our trusty radar have to say?" the blonde chirruped.

"That's enough, Kena, let her concentrate." Ayashi said, shooting her a warning glance. She couldn't quite manage to hide the smile that crept to her lips, though. The blonde smirked but made no move to retort, and Ayashi turned her attention back to the brunette standing beside her. Arana's eyes were shut tightly in concentration. She clasped her fists at her sides and leaned forward in the direction of the town, her long wavy hair falling down around her face in shiny brown cascade. She began to hum quietly, not a tune but a single, low note. Her fingers uncurled slowly and floated upwards to cup her face. The humming faded away until all that could be heard was the hard exhaling of breath from her lips. Arana massaged her temples gently, urging the third eye—the portal in her mind that would reveal the location of their quarry—to open.

The blackness on the inside of her eyelids disappeared suddenly as the eye opened, replaced by swirls of brightly glowing shapes. A tingling sensation, not totally unpleasant, coursed over her body. She pushed back against them. For a short moment she had the impression that she was living in and experiencing the sensations of two bodies—her physical and her astral body. In a matter of seconds, though, the feeling passed and she was loose and free in the caverns of her mind. Relaxing slightly (the most taxing part of this process was now over) she focused on making the energy signals, for that was what the glowing figures were, to become distinct and separate entities in her mind. They did, though reluctantly, and she was able to discern the presences of approximately 200 people. Moving her astral body, she waded into the spectral sea of lights. Some were glowing more brightly than others, signifying stronger psychic powers. She floated upward and around the glowing figures, moving through family homes, stores, and bars.

She was searching for someone, a light so bright that it had nearly blinded her the first time she had seen it. Arana suspected that due to its color—most human lights were a greenish color whereas this one was whitish-blue—and the intensity of the energy signal that the person it belonged to was more likely than not something other than human. She reached the end of the town, clearly obvious for the total lack of light beyond, and circled back to make another run; there was no way that she would let a bounty this large slip through her fingers. She went through the town again, and once more after that. There were two similar signals, one so faint that it she had missed it the first two times she had searched, but neither was a fraction as powerful or intense as the original. The two people (she reckoned that they were related in some way) possessed blue-colored energy signatures, but that was still within the range of possible human energies.

Arana let herself return slowly. The lights grew distant and faint, finally disappearing in the darkness. The tingling started up again as her two bodies—the physical body and the astral body—neared. Her astral arms and legs slid inside those of her physical body like hands into a glove. She wriggled her fingers and toes vigorously to encourage the two bodies to merge completely. She opened her eyes slowly, letting herself adjust to the light, as dim as it now was, that streamed into them. She turned around so that she faced her three partners. Ayashi was nibbling on a small hunk of bread that she had fished from her pack. Kena, arms crossed over her chest and an unreadable expression on her face, was looking out at the towering rock formations that they had passed through when they had arrived here.

Arana blinked in confusion. Where was Okaia? She heard a grunt from below her. The petite redhead was sitting cross-legged on the ground, the large—not to mention extremely heavy, as Arana and the others were always swift to point out—machine gun she always insisted on carrying was sitting in her lap. Okaia's hands moved rapidly and expertly over the weapon, checking to make sure it was in perfect working condition. Smiling, Arana lifted her hands up above her and languorously stretched, happy to be back in the physical world again. The movement caught her comrades' keen eyes and they looked over at her, expectant looks on their faces. Arana sighed and shook her head from side to side.

"No luck," she said quietly. Okaia frowned and went back to caring for her weapon. A disappointed look passed briefly over Kena's face before she turned back to look at the rock formations. Ayashi sighed, took one more bite from the roll and then stuffed it back into her pack. She turned around in a slow circle, taking in the empty expanse of desert stretching out behind them. A faint wind blew up, and she shivered. The last sun was a sliver of dull red that was quickly disappearing below the horizon. The air had grown noticeably cooler, and would more likely than not become even colder as the night progressed. Ayashi turned back to the tiny town, a warm twinkle of lights standing boldly out in this cold, sand-strewn wasteland. She smiled and nodded to herself, decision made.

"Well, no use staying out here any longer," she said, turning back to the other three. "We might as well stay here tonight. There'll be plenty of time to investigate in the morning."

Arana made a sound of agreement and inclined her head at the town. "They should have all the supplies we need there."

"Need?" Ayashi's brow rose in question.

Kena laughed and strode over to stand next to her. "In her haste to make sure we were armed to the teeth, Okaia forgot to pack all but a day's worth of food and water rations."

Ayashi's eyes widened in shock and her gaze darted down to Okaia, who was hunched down over her weapon. She looked like she wanted to sink right into the sand and out of sight. Ignoring the dry chuckle that issued from Kena's mouth, Ayashi slung her pack off of her shoulder and onto the ground. She rooted through it almost frantically, tossing its contents onto the sand. Her fingers came upon what she was looking for, and she pulled the three squarish plastic packages from the bag. Normally these would contain her water rations. When her canteen was empty, she could just replace the empty water bag with a full one and be on her way. The ones she held in her palm were bone dry and painfully empty. Ayashi clenched the empty packages in her shaking fist. She took a deep breath, exhaled noisily, and began to replace the items that she had strewn out on the sand back in her pack.

Okaia regarded her from beneath a sweat-matted swatch of red hair. She glanced back down at her machine gun. She had no interest in cleaning it anymore. With a pained grimace, she slid her arm through the wide leather strap and slung the gun over her shoulder. She pushed herself to her feet, brushing away the sand that clung to her rear and the backs of her thighs and waited, her head hung, for the tongue-lashing that was sure to come.

Replacing her sleeping roll back in her pack, Ayashi strapped it shut and threw it over her shoulder. She stood up, shaking her clothes free of sand, and leveled a hard look at the redhead standing remorsefully before her.

"I'm sorry," Okaia mumbled quietly. Eyes of a vibrant orchid purple, swimming in hot tears, rose to meet each of the women's faces in turn. They lingered on Ayashi's, waiting for her reply.

Kena's smirk faltered and she glanced over at Ayashi, begging her to be merciful in her response. The other woman felt, but didn't meet, her eyes. There was a sudden pressure in her mind, followed by a faint tingling.

_Go easy on her, Ayashi. She was just excited and forgot,_ Arana implored in her mind. Ayashi didn't reply, and Arana broke the link. Sighing forcefully, Ayashi looked down at Okaia. A warm smile spread on her face and she touched the redhead's shoulder gently. No matter what the circumstance, she could never stay angry for very long with Okaia.

"You do realize the trouble we might have been in had we not been so close to civilization?" She squeezed her shoulder in emphasis and Okaia nodded briskly. Ayashi chuckled quietly and clapped her on the back. "It's good to know at least that we're prepared for anyone or anything that gets in our way, am I right?"

Okaia looked up and flashed her a bright smile.

"Yep!" she crowed, her characteristic good humor back in full force. Kena exchanged a pleased look with Ayashi, and a large smile spread itself across Arana's face. Okaia, head held high and grinning fiercely, took a few steps towards the town. She turned back, her shoulder-length hair flipping around in the air behind her.

"So are we going or what?" she called cheerfully. The other three nodded and fell in step with her.

The town was mostly quiet as they entered. Trickles of a lullaby floated down from the upper window of a two-story adobe house on the outskirts of the village. The sounds of harsh, crowing laughter punctuated by the occasional sound of breaking bottles or a gunshot echoed from somewhere farther inside, more likely than not a saloon. The four women walked quietly down the sand-strewn main street through alternating patches of light thrown from windows.

A group of three or four giggling children suddenly darted out in front of them. One of them, a short waif of a boy, collided head on into Kena's legs, nearly throwing her off balance. The blonde stifled the curse that flew to her lips as she caught sight of the little boy lying asprawl at her feet. Expression softening, she knelt so that she was at eye level with him.

"Hey there, big guy, you okay?" Her voice was soft and gentle as she spoke and the boy looked up at her and nodded soundlessly. Kena's smile widened and she affectionately ruffled his unruly mop of black hair.

"Look out where you're going next time, okay?" The boy nodded again and darted off after his playmates. Kena rose to her feet, still grinning warmly. She flushed in embarrassment as she saw the look the other three were giving her.

"Ah, come on. It's not like I read him a story or played peek-a-boo or whatever kids play now-a-days or anything." Her flush deepened as she saw the identical grins on their faces widen.

"Dumb kid should have been looking where he was going, anyway," she muttered, her voice trailing off to the barest whisper.

"Stop right there, ladies."

All four women spun around quickly to face the owner of the voice. Okaia, moving with the speed and dexterity of years of hard training, instantly grabbed her machine gun and leveled it at the five men standing in a solemn line before them. The one in the center was wearing a shiny silver star pinned to his vest. Arana's hand moved to her weapon as well. Kena crouched low to the ground, ready to dart past and circle the men. Taking one look at the five guns pointed at them and the hard, yet slightly fearful looks on the men's faces, Ayashi signaled to Kena and Arana to back off. Moving slowly so as not to alert the men, she pulled up beside Okaia.

"Easy there," she spoke out of the corner her mouth as she laid one hand on the barrel of the gun, pushing it down and away from the men. Okaia shot her a worried look but didn't protest. Moving as if in slow motion, Ayashi lifted her hands, palms facing outwards, into the air.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" she asked as innocuously as possible.

The one wearing the star stepped forward. "We don't want any trouble here, ladies, so if that's what you're after, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"We mean you nor anyone else in this town any harm whatsoever." The sheriff, or deputy, some sort of law enforcement officer anyway, glanced warily over at Okaia, who still had her hands on her weapon, ready to swing it up and fire if necessary. Ayashi followed his glance and quickly added, "My three comrades and I are bounty hunters. All we're looking for is a place to stay and replenish our supplies."

The officer nodded, but didn't look entirely convinced. He holstered his gun and motioned for the other men to do the same. They did, although reluctantly, and backed off slightly.

"The first sign of trouble and you and your friends," he nodded toward Arana, Kena, and Okaia, "are out of here. Got that?"

"Yes, sir, we understand perfectly. We shouldn't be here much longer than a week. We have some investigating to do a little south of your village and—"

"I don't care." The officer's reply was curt, his voice chilly. "Just keep on moving."

Ayashi nodded in compliance, dropped her hands to her sides, and motioned for her comrades to follow her. They walked past the men silently, alert to the slightest movement. When they were a good distance away, Okaia, glancing back to make sure that they weren't being followed (the street was empty, save for a couple of teetering and singing drunks), began to speak.

"If those guys were supposed to be the welcome wagon, I hate to wonder what the rest of the townspeople are like."

"Think of it this way," Kena replied quietly, her eyes traveling over the various storefronts (all dark now), "if you saw people who looked like us entering your hometown, would you be so quick to welcome them in?"

Okaia nibbled her lower lip and glanced down at her feet. "Well...I wouldn't pull a gun on them! That was just plain rude!"

Kena's eyebrow rose in speculation. "Oh wouldn't you?"

Both Arana and Ayashi stifled giggles. Okaia threw her hands up in the air in mild exasperation and sighed noisily.

Arana, composing herself, stopped and stared out at the small village spread out before them.

"So where do we go from here?"

_Well, what do you think? Let me know! Stay tuned for the next chapter!_


	3. 60,000,000,000 Man

Well, this is the second chapter. Written by Megan. This is where Vash actually comes in at. ) Enjoy! Please read and review.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, we don't own Trigun.

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**Chapter II**

Ayashi sighed and brushed the loose strands of hair off of her forehead again. She looked to each of her friends and met their tired eyes sympathetically in the dying light. She noticed Okaia try to stifle a yawn and immediately felt one rise in her throat. "Well, I would suggest that we find someplace to crash for the night."

Kena turned to look behind her, judging the last sun that was slowly dropping behind the horizon. "I'd say we should do it quickly too. We probably only have about 15 minutes of daylight left."

Starting to walk down the street of the quieting town, Ayashi said, "I would think a hotel would be close to the fringes." She paused; scanning the streets as people left them.

"Oh! How about that one?" Okaia pointed to tall structure a few buildings down on a side street. A large sign read "Quality Hotel" above it.

"Perfect." Ayashi smiled and the group moved to follow the petite redhead.

"Wait a minute." Arana stopped a few feet before the front stoop of the motel. "How are we going to pay for this? I mean, do we need that much attention right away?"

They all stopped to look at each other. "No problem, I can handle it." Ayashi grinned.

"Are you sure?" Arana looked worried. "There's a lot of hostility in this town, I can feel it. Something seems, I don't know, weird. People are tense." She met Ayashi's eyes. "I can help if you want me to."

"Thanks, but you've already exherted yourself enough today. I don't want to wear you out." Ayashi looked at the three women standing with her. "Give me a chance?"

Arana smiled. "Sure, but don't be surprised if we only get the laundry room."

"I call dibs on the towels!" Okaia grinned. "Someone else can sleep in the wash basin."

Kena shrugged. "I don't care what we do as long as it gets done fast."

They turned and walked out of the twilight into the warmth of the hotel lobby. A tired looking elderly man sat at the front desk. He forced himself to move as the door swung open. "Can I help you?" he asked before he had even looked up. His eyes squinted with exhaustion at the figures moving towards him. He gasped as his old eyes focused properly. He stood up and took what felt like a defensive position behind the counter.

_These women are trouble_, he thought. They were beautiful, but strangers. And they looked hardened and capable of great strength. They scared him. He cleared his throat and prepared to turn them away.

"Good evening." Ayashi smiled and took up a friendly but business-like manner. "We would like to know if you have any rooms available."

"No, sorry. All filled up." The man was curt, almost rude. In his mind he sent messages, urging them to leave him alone.

"None at all?" Ayashi held the exterior of a powerful person who knew she was being lied to.

The man faltered. "No, uh, we rented the last one an hour ago ... yeah." His eyes broke from hers and wandered the room.

_Hmm, no good_, thought Ayashi, _intimidation isn't going to work_. She switched approaches. A beaming smile spread across her pleasant face. She looked down demurely. "I'm sorry. I guess I should be friendlier. I'm just tired. My friends and I have been traveling all day. I'm Ayashi." She held out her hand gracefully.

Now the man was startled. A new woman seemed to stand before him. Physically, they all still looked the same, like they could cause damage, but the one speaking reminded him of his oldest daughter when she was younger, before she moved away. She seemed kind, and gentle; trustworthy. Not knowing what else to do, he took her hand. "And, well," he stuttered, "I should be more polite." He scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "I'm Lawrence."

Ayashi smiled again. "Nice to meet you." Letting go of his hand, she leaned against the counter and sighed. She let the kind smile fade from her face. Her brow wrinkled and her large brown eyes lifted to stare into his. "Are you sure you don't have any place to put us?"

In his chest, Lawrence's heart nearly broke. Now she reminded him of his youngest daughter when they had told her they would be moving from their old house to another town. "Well, let me take another look." He smiled hopefully at her.

She returned his smile. He spun around and took two keys from hooks on a pegboard behind him. "Now, all I have left are two singles. I know there are four of you," he looked at the other girls, but quickly returned his gaze to Ayashi, "but maybe you could work something out?" He moved aside to show them the empty board. "That's really all I have."

Ayashi stood up straight, grinning ear to ear. "That's wonderful, Lawrence! Two rooms will be perfect!"

He dropped the two keys into her hand. "That's 217 and 219. Second floor, last two doors on your left."

Nodding, Ayashi followed her friends upstairs, not forgetting to wish Lawrence a good night and pleasant dreams, which he returned to her.

Upstairs, Arana raised her hands in the air. "I don't know how you do it, but I stand in awe all the same."

"I'm taking the first room we come to." Okaia yawned again and took the key for room 217, shoving it into the lock on the door.

"I'm right behind you." Arana followed her into the bedroom. Before the two girls shut the door, they called down to the other girls. "Good night, bakas!" Then they locked the door and proceeded to draw straws to see who would get the bed.

Kena and Ayashi continued down the hall to their room. Inside, the tossed their heavy packs on the floor and washed the dirt from their hands and faces. Kena stretched her arms outward and rubbed her neck. "So, who's taking the bed?"

Ayashi had just unclasped her thick metal breastplate and was removing it from her chest. "Who says we can't share?" She darted over to Kena, laid her head on her shoulder and threw her arms around her. "We could snuggle together and get all cozy-like!"

Kena groaned. Placing her hand on Ayashi's head, she pushed hard. The brunette stumbled backward grinning wildly. As Ayashi composed herself, Kena undid the belt around her waist and made a face at her. "As if I would ever allow myself to sleep next to someone as ugly as you." The words would have cut deep, coming from any other person, but Ayashi could see the glimmer in Kena's eyes and the smirk around her lips.

"Oh well, I never had a thing for blondes anyway." She grinned at her roommate as they both stripped down to their bodysuits.

Kena shook her head. "I swear to God, you are so weird sometimes."

"I know." Ayashi threw a winning smile over to her. "But anyway, you can take the bed. I can never get to sleep easily. A soft bed would just be wasted on me."

"All right. Thanks." Kena climbed into the small bed. It squeaked even under her slight weight. Ayashi rolled out her sleeping mat on the floor next to the window. In a few minutes, Kena's breathing slowed, and Ayashi could hear the bed creak again as her companion's muscles relaxed.

She lay silent in the darkness, listening to the breathing from the bed beside her, and laying out a course of action for the next day. Eventually, a dull red light began to fill the room. Restless, Ayashi stood up and looked out the window. A huge red moon hung close overhead. She noticed a second one, smaller and blue, behind it. A monstrous crater could be seen at the bottom of the red moon. She pushed her eyebrows together in concentration. If anything had crashed into a moon that orbited so closely to a planet, surely that planet would have suffered terrible consequences. This gaping hole in the moon looked recent, she though. Very recent.

Unable to make sense of the moons, she looked elsewhere. She traced the foreign landscape with her eyes. She took in the few small buildings out the outskirts of the town, the quiet sand that lay everywhere, and the mountains far out in the distance. Closer, there were tall cliffs that circled the small deposit of civilization. Something caught her eye on the one closest to the town. She squinted, trying to make out what it was that stood on the top of the cliff. In the light of the moons, it seemed as though it were a man. Ayashi looked away and then looked back again, trying to clear her vision. Yes, certainly, it was a man. He was walking away from her. She sighed as he disappeared from her sight.

_This is an odd place_, she thought. Lying back down on her mat, she forced herself to fall asleep.

**· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · **

Arana was already dressed and moving around by the time the light from the second sun broke through a crack in the drapes at the window and woke Okaia from her peaceful dreams. The redhead rolled away from the intense brightness and reluctantly opened her eyes.

"Time to wake up, you sleepy-head! Rise and shine; get out of bed!" Arana smiled as Okaia sat up; stretching her arms above her head and letting them fall down beside her. She sat on the bed; her legs still covered by the starched sheets.

"What time is it?" Okaia asked with sleep audible in her voice.

"I don't know exactly, probably around eight." Arana walked over to the mirror on the wall to brush her wavy chestnut-colored hair. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well, thanks." She shook off the tired feeling left over from a long night's sleep. "And you?"

Grinning good-naturedly, Arana found Okaia's eyes in the mirror. "It would have been better if I would have drawn the long straw."

Okaia noticed that her partner's sleeping mat was already neatly rolled up and ready to be tucked inside her traveling pack. She wrinkled her brow with concern. "Was it that bad?"

"Nah, just teasing." Arana smiled and tucked her brush away. "You had better get ready. I would imagine that we'll be leaving soon."

"Oh, you're right!" Okaia was fully awake now, and eager to begin their adventure again. She hopped out of bed and began to dress herself. As she pulled herself together, she asked her friend what she thought they would do first.

"Hmm, I would figure that we'd buy supplies first, and then try to find some information about whatever I sensed. Hopefully we'll get some direction on that."

Okaia blushed. "Yeah, sorry again about the food and stuff."

Arana waved her hand. "Nah, no harm done. I could sure use some breakfast though."

Okaia was about to nod in agreement when someone began to pound violently on their door. Arana quickly ran over and unlocked it. Kena burst into the room complaining. "I do not have to deal with her again! I did it last time too! Someone else can handle that woman because I wash my hands of it!" She paused and looked first at Arana, then at Okaia. "One of you can go. I refuse to do it." The blond crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from the other two in the room.

"Ohhhh," groaned Arana, "not again." She took off down the hallway to where the door to 219 was propped open. Lying sprawled across the floor was Ayashi, deep in a slumber. Arana rubbed her head as Okaia ran up behind her and Kena followed last. "I guess I'll try..."

Fifteen minutes later, Arana was irritated, Okaia was upset, Kena was furious and Ayashi was still asleep.

Arana stood up, holding the pitcher in her hands that had been filled with water only seconds before. "I give up." She sighed. "What are we going to do with her?" She looked down at her slumbering friend whose face and hair were now completely soaked.

Kena had had enough. "This is what we do." Swiftly she bent down over Ayashi's head. She placed one hand over her mouth, and with the other pinched her nose.

The three companions waited silently. After a few moments, Okaia burst out, "What if she suffocates?"

At that moment Ayashi twitched slightly. Her eyes flew open. In one swift move she grabbed the arm over her and meant to fling her attacker across the room, but Kena pulled in with a neat little flip and landed softly by Ayashi's feet.

Standing up angrily, Ayashi leveled a heavy stare at Kena. "Damn! What were you trying to do? Kill me!?"

Kena scoffed. "Please, speak for yourself. If I hadn't seen you move before you woke up I'd be three rooms over right now." She motioned at the wall she would have been sent through if Ayashi had completed her attack motion.

Ayashi rubbed her eyes. "Well, you could have been nicer about the wake-up call," she pouted.

Kena's mouth fell open. "Wha - nicer? NICER? We tried fifteen minutes of 'nicer'." She closed her eyes and composed herself. Picking up her pack she turned back to Ayashi. "All right sleeping beauty, I certainly hope you can get ready quicker than you can wake up." She turned on her heels and sailed out the door, throwing back over her shoulder that she would wait for them down in the lobby.

Still in the room, Ayashi grew bright red. "Was it really that bad?" She asked Arana and Okaia.

"You were so out cold!" Okaia laughed.

Arana placed the empty pitcher on the dresser. "It was bad, for sure." She looked down the hallway after Kena. "But she never reacts like that. I mean, does she normally loose her cool?"

It was a rhetorical question, but both Ayashi and Okaia shook their heads for a negative.

"Something bothering her." Arana turned back to Ayashi. "We'll find out later what it is I guess."

Okaia frowned. "I hope she's okay."

"Ah, she's tough. I probably just snored and kept her awake all night," Ayashi lied. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

Her two friends walked down the hall to pick up their gear and then proceeded to the lobby of the hotel.

Ayashi dressed quickly, rolled up her sleeping mat, brushed out her hair, washed her face, and organized her supplies in a few minutes. She remembered to grab the room key on her way out the door. Downstairs she met with the rest of the group.

Wanting to mend feelings, she quickly began to apologize to Kena. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to over-sleep. I wanted to get an early start—"

Kena shook her head and rolled her eyes. "It's okay. I didn't mean to loose it. I just didn't sleep well."

Okaia giggled. "You do snore, Ayashi!"

"Nah, I just had a terrible dream. There was a blond man..."

"Doesn't sound so bad!" Okaia grinned wildly.

"No, he was ... so, I don't know," Kena struggled for the right word. "He was weird. I don't remember a lot now, I don't even remember what he looked like, but it put me into a bad mood. Plus there was this freaky-looking cat."

Arana smiled warmly. "Oh well, everything's over now."

"Right," Ayashi agreed. "Let's get supplies!" Her stomach growled. "Or breakfast! Even better!"

"We need to turn in our keys." Arana held hers out to Ayashi.

Taking it, Ayashi turned around and walked over to the front desk. Lawrence was already there, dusting the things behind the counter.

"Morning! How did you girls sleep last night?" He smiled as the young woman came toward him.

"Oh, very well, thanks. Here are our keys." Ayashi held them out to him.

He looked down at her hand and then back up at her face. "I'll tell you what, I'll go ahead and take them, but hold your rooms for you in case you need them again tonight." He took the keys from her and hung them on the pegboard behind him.

"That's so kind of you! Thank you so very much!" Ayashi beamed. She turned to follow her friends out the door. Looking back, she called out to him, waving, "Thanks again! See you later!"

He waved back after her. _Such a nice group of women_, he thought, completely forgetting his first impression of them and the fact that he had never charged them for a room.

**· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · **

After a quick bite to eat at a local bakery, the group headed out into the town to find a general supplies store.

"Okey-doke! We already have some bread. That's one staple off the list. I think that the next thing we do is filling up our water pouches. Then maybe we can find some cured meat. After that, we can look for other things, like rice, that will travel well. Right?" Ayashi turned to look at the three behind her.

"Sounds good," Arana nodded.

"Mmm, rice!" Okaia winked at Kena.

Kena smiled in return. "One store will probably have all that, you know, Ayashi."

"I realize that, but this will be our list of priorit-"Ayashi stopped in her tracks.

Arana, who had been admiring the selection of stores, and counting the number of bars they passed, nearly ran into the distracted Ayashi ahead of her. "Geez, what's with this? You don't just stop when people are behind you." She followed her gaze, but couldn't find anything worth staring at.

"What's wrong?" Okaia tried to follow her gaze too but only found some food stands.

"Mmmmmmm... donuts..." Ayashi licked her lips.

Her friends nearly fell over.

A vein popped out on Kena's forehead. "We don't have time for this."

"Dooooooooonuts..."

Arana looked ahead. "Ah! A 'general store'!" She pointed down the street and Kena took off. She sighed and started off after her, leaving Okaia with Ayashi.

"C'mon, they're leaving. Stop looking at the donut stand." Okaia studied the lean girl in front of her. "You just ate. You can have donuts at lunch or something."

Ayashi was unaffected and licked her lips again. She started to move towards the donut stand. "Donuuuuuts."

Okaia grabbed the fabric in her jacket before she was out of reach. "Oh, no you don't. You wasted too much time already." With that, she walked behind her and pushed her forward.

Ayashi stumbled ahead. "B-but, you don't understand! DONUTS!" She tried to point in the direction of the pastry stall, but Okaia would have none of it and eventually shoved her into the store.

The store was dimly lit, and Ayashi came to her senses, being removed from her former environment. The Doushikai spread out and found the supplies they needed. One by one, they grouped back together in a corner near a barrel of grain sugar.

"_What is it?_" Arana looked at Ayashi, mentally asking her why that worried look was on her face. She was concerned they would look to out of the ordinary in a group together.

Ayashi met her gaze and spoke softly. "We'll have to pay for all this, but I don't want too much attention brought to us while we're here. How much do you think our coin is worth here?"

As Arana had feared, they garnered the attention of the storeowner, who didn't like the look of these rough women together. As they sorted out how much to pay, he decided it would be best to play it safe and be exceptionally kind to the four of them.

After a few minutes, they approached the counter, laying the supplies out in front of them.

"Did you ladies find everything all right?" The man tried to smile.

"Oh yes, everything looks wonderful." Ayashi flashed a smile at him, which may have made him even more nervous.

He nodded, stuttering only a little, "G-good."

As he rang up the sale, two men entered the store talking loudly to each other.

"I swear to god, Jake! The Humanoid Typhoon is here! In Panos!" A dirty man with a dusty hat pushed down on his head was deep in conversation with his friend.

Jake looked back at him. "You can't mean one of them damn fools they drug around an' beat up however many weeks back."

"Naw not, him. That one guy was a pansy. But my wife heard that some new guy; dark and dangerous, with a scraggily beard, just happened into town. No one knows anything about him, except that he's a killer."

"Damn Todd. You jump on every rumor that come flyin' out of some woman's mouth. Prob'ly half the folks that come in 'ere anymore are killers." He eyed his companion. "Jus' stay out of their way. And don't go thinkin' about the reward money, either."

Jake began looking through the stock in the store, but Todd whistled.

"Don't tell me that 60 **billion** doubledollars doesn't make you want to take some chances now an' then, huh?" Todd slapped his pal on the back and joined him in looking at the merchandise.

The four women at the counter exchanged looks between each other. Ayashi turned back to the storeowner who had almost finished ringing them up. "Excuse me, but what man are they talking about?"

He looked at them as if they were insane.

"We're not from around here," she shrugged.

"The Humanoid Typhoon, the 60 Billion Doubledollar man, the most feared man on the planet, and you haven't heard of him?" He stared at them with wonder.

They shook their heads as one.

Jake and Todd picked up on their conversation and joined them.

"He put the hole in the fifth moon!"

"He destroyed the city of July!"

"He destroyed Augusta!"

"He's a localized act of God!"

"And a terrible womanizer!"

Four sets of eyebrows raised in unison. "He sounds terrible," Okaia agreed.

Kena whispered in Arana's ear. "This may be our man." She nodded.

Ayashi smiled and placed several coins on the counter. "Well, thank you all for the information. I'm sure we'll put it to good use." She winked at her friends and picked up her share of the supplies, heading out the door.

"Well, that was enlightening." Ayashi sighed.

"He sounds like someone who has a lot of power." Okaia looked at Arana.

"He may just be our bounty." Arana grinned.

"Hey, can we stop at a bar and get something to eat?" Okaia motioned towards a rustic tavern.

Kena looked up at the sky. "It probably is about noon."

Ayashi shrugged. "I can always eat." Together, they walked up onto the open porch of the bar.

The foursome claimed a round table on the sunny deck in front of the saloon. Kena immediately positioned herself with her back to the wall. Arana and Okaia had clear views either way down the street, and Ayashi could see inside the bar. Catching the eye of a waiter inside, she waved him over so they could place an order for food.

"Hello, how are you doing today?" the waiter asked, smiling warmly in Ayashi's direction.

"Just fine," she smiled back, hoping to cover their unique appearance with friendliness. "Tell me, do you have a lunch special here?"

"Well, certainly! It's a wonderful cut of roast and ..." Ayashi didn't really listen very closely; she would eat whatever there was. In her head, she heard Arana say that the lunch special was fine with her. Shifting her gaze to Kena and Okaia, she received nods of approval from them as well.

Returning her attention to the waiter, who was still carrying on about the side of potatoes, Ayashi politely cut him off. "That's sounds great! We'll have four orders."

"Four...?" The waiter seemed puzzled. Then he looked around the table to the other girls. "Oh," he breathed, understanding. "And to drink?" He quickly turned back to Ayashi, beaming.

Arana tried to stifle the giggle that rose in her throat from watching Ayashi and her love-stuck waiter. Kena silently wondered whether it was her friend's warm smile and friendly face that charmed men, or the attractive length of cleavage that showed at the top of her breastplate.

"Just a cold beer," she said, looking away and blushing bright red.

"Oh! One for me too!" Okaia piped up, never taking her eyes off of the street. Kena wanted a beer too, and Arana asked for a glass of water, and the waiter left to take their order back to the kitchen, but not without first giving a sighing glance back to Ayashi. As soon as he was gone, Okaia grinned, leaning over the table. "Ohhh, guys! I just spotted the best-looking piece of hunk ever! He's over there, across the street, playing ball with those kids."

Arana turned to look. "Oh, I guess he's cute, but I really prefer men with dark hair."

Kena shrugged. "I think he looks like a schmuck."

"Oh, that's why you never get any loving, Kena," Okaia teased. "What do you think, Ayashi? You didn't even look."

"I don't have to," Ayashi winked.

"What?"

"Is he really tall, with broad shoulders?" Ayashi asked.

Okaia nodded.

"Long blond hair that sticks straight up?" Another nod. "White collared shirt and denim pants?" A third nod. "The most gorgeous eyes you've ever seen?" Ayashi sighed.

"Exactly! How do you know?" Okaia asked eagerly.

"He was at the doughnut stand this morning," Ayashi replied matter-o-factly.

"What?" Okaia screamed. "You mean you saw him earlier and didn't tell me? Ohh, but we always go guy-watching together!"

Kena and Arana both cracked up into fits of laughter as Ayashi and Okaia argued over who got to claim rights to his "hot body".

It was Arana who got them to quiet down. "Hey you two, it looks like you can settle this for real. He's walking this way."

Immediately the two spun in their seats to watch the object of their desire move ever closer to them. With a goofy grin on his face, the man walked up the stairs waving to the girls.

"Hello there!" he said. "I saw you two arguing over here, and thought I might be of some assistance to you lovely ladies." The man continued smiling.

Kena inwardly grimaced at such a transparent pick-up line, but she knew Ayashi and Okaia would never notice.

"What were you discussing?" He asked, trying to make headway.

"Uhh... n-nothing," Ayashi stammered, shaking her head. Her pulse was racing and a giddy smile covered her face. She had been smooth and collected talking with the waiter, only minutes earlier, but now her heart was in her throat and she couldn't seem to get enough air. Only one word surged through her head; _love_.

Okaia was in considerably better shape. "Yeah, nothing! Do you want to join us?"

"That would be great!" he smiled.

Okaia and Ayashi as one grabbed the same chair from a table behind them and placed it between them. As the handsome man walked over to the offered chair, he brushed past Arana. In the deep recesses of her psychic mind, a recognition of power flashed brightly as his skin touched hers. Remembering the burst of psychic energy that originally brought them to this planet, Arana found this new energy to be strangely similar. It was, however, not the same exact resonance pattern, and certainly nowhere near as strong. It could be just a freak coincidence, she thought. She looked at the dopey but endearing smile on the face of the man between her attractive friends. He certainly didn't look like the one they were searching for. She decided not to say anything until they had done more investigating.

Okaia leaned in close to the man next to her. In a sultry voice, she said, "I'm Okaia. What's your name?"

Startled by her strong come-on, he broke eye-contact with her, and re-established it with Ayashi. "Me? Oh, I'm Vash." Instantly, he began mentally kicking himself. He had been giving out a different name here when it was necessary to have a name. Vash the Stampede was not a popular name these days, synonymous with the Humanoid Typhoon and The 60 Billion Doubledollar Man. However, the intoxicating presence of these beautiful girls had made him completely forget his alias. Or was it maybe just the intoxicating look he found in the deep brown eyes he was looking into? This girl with the brown hair next to him was more than just pretty. In fact, she had that feeling of a kindred soul about her; maybe she was someone who could understand him. Before he could get too excited, he reminded himself that he was probably just indulging in wishful thinking.

She broke his mental train of thought. "Vash? That's nice." Ayashi was still having trouble putting words into full sentences. Her heart was still beating faster than was healthy, and her head was swimming with two words now: _Vash_, and _love_.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Oh, um. I'm-I'm Ayashi," she stumbled, trying to regain her composure.

"That's a beautiful name," Vash said. He wanted to get to know this girl more. She was intriguing.

However, Okaia was irritated by Vash's attention toward, well, anyone but herself at this moment. She grabbed hold of his arm and his attention. "Ok, well, you should know that that's Arana," she pointed across the table, "and that's Kena," she indicated. "We're from out of town."

"I see," Vash grinned.

Just then the waiter returned with the girls' drinks and meals. He asked the newcomer, Vash if he wanted anything, but he declined. "I really have to run some errands for a friend of mine." In his head, Vash sourly thought of the new bandages he needed to buy for the person he had left at home. As the waiter left for the inside of the bar, Vash realized he wanted to see these women again. And it wasn't only because they were talking to him, either.

"Listen, I'd like to see you all later. If you're not busy, would you come have dinner with me tonight? We can eat at my house." Vash met the eyes of all four women.

"We'd love to!" Okaia replied. "Just tell us when!"

"Say at 7 tonight? Vash pointed east, "take this road and turn right on the first street you come to. Then take that all the way to the end of town. My place is the second to last house on the left before you hit the desert."

"We'll be there for sure!" Okaia winked at he tall man.

Overwhelmed, Vash just smiled. Arana thanked him politely, although Kena rolled her eyes and sipped her beer.

"See you there?" Vash asked Ayashi.

"Of course," she nodded, finally winning control over her body. "I wouldn't miss it."

"All right, well, have a good lunch, ladies," Vash said as he waved good-bye.

"Bye-bye, Vash!" Okaia waved back, perhaps a bit too energetically. "He's mine!" she whispered happily in Ayashi's ear.

Ayashi shook her head, keeping her eyes on Vash until he disappeared down another street. "No way. I saw him first."

**_So...What did you think? Please let me know. It will be greatly appreciated!_**


	4. No Pudding Please!

_This chapter was written by me, Malina!  There is quite a bit of shameless flirting between a couple of the characters, you will have to read to find out who! (mwahaha!) Oh, and Kena just kicks ass!  Please read and review...I would love to know what you think!_

_Disclaimer:  We do not own Trigun, and probably never will._

**Chapter III**

**No pudding please!**

"Alright Ayashi, what do we do next?" Arana wondered, eagerly awaiting the answer that she wanted to hear.

"Well, how about we split up and search this town and see what we can find."

"Sounds good to me," Arana said satisfactorily.

"Fine by me," Kena agreed.

"Split up? Ok...do you think that I could follow Vash?" Okaia mumbled.

"Don't even think about it Okaia!" Okaia knew perfectly well that whining would annoy Ayashi, so she did. And it would have worked if Ayashi hadn't decided to ignore it instead.

"Ok. I say that we all go in four different directions and meet back here at 6:30." Ayashi looked around to the other girls for a head nod or anything that looked like they agreed to it, but when she got to Arana she was already half way down the street heading south of the bar.

Okaia giggled, "Wow, she's a bit eager to explore this town."

Kena grinned slightly. "She probably just wants to look at the different shops they have here. God help us if she finds a clothing store."

Okaia and Ayashi both laughed and nodded at Kena's remark. "Yeah we would be in big trouble then," all three girls laughed as they said this in unison.

"Well, since she went that way I'll go this way." Okaia quickly got up from the table and raced in the opposite direction.

"Hey! Wait for me Okaia, I'm coming with you." Ayashi had decided to tag along with Okaia to make sure that she didn't follow Vash, after all, Ayashi did see him first.

"Well this sucks. Those bakas left me with the stupid bill." Just as Kena was saying this the waiter comes back out with the check. He was frantically looking for Ayashi, but couldn't seem to find her anywhere. "Don't even try looking for her kid. She already left. So, how much do I owe you?" Kena seemed to jump from one subject to another, confusing the poor waiter.

"Huh? What? Oh, the total comes to twenty double dollars?" Kena threw some money down on the table and ran off before the waiter could say anything. The waiter just stood there examining the money. "What the hell is this? I've never seen anything like it."

**· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · **

Arana wondered down the street amazed at all of the shops and stores. "Ooohhh, look at how pretty everything is."

Then she heard a deep voice to the right of her laughing. "Man lady, this is nothing but a boring ol' desert. Why do you think everything is pretty?"

Arana looked him over. He was about six foot and two inches tall; he had light brown hair, and blue eyes. Arana looked at him and thought that he was cute, but not really her type. "Huh? Oh, I meant that I like the look of the shops. They're different here."

"What do you mean they're different here? Everything is the same no matter where you go."

Arana couldn't believe what she just said. _I can't believe that. I need to be more careful next time. _"Uh...um...I don't know what I meant. I guess they are just quainter here than from where I am from."

"Oh, ok. I see. Well, why don't you join me in here? I'll buy you what you want. How about some pudding? We have tons of it."

Arana was too mad to realize that he was so understanding. She looked at him very angrily. She then walked over to him, shot him "the look" and then stomped on his left foot as hard as she could. "How dare you suggest that! I don't like pudding!" She then turned and walked away.

The man was stunned. He didn't know what to do. How does one person get so upset over pudding?

Arana walked further down the street and then took a right turn, and came to a sudden stop. _Why are_ _there are so many children_, she thought to herself. "Oh, I get it. It must be an orphanage." She went and leaned on the fence surrounding the orphanage to watch the children play a fiercely competitive game of dodge ball. As she was looking through the crowd of children she came across a very tall, very handsome man. This man had dark eyes, dark hair, and a scraggily beard. He was wearing a blue suit and appeared to be holding his chest in pain.

As Arana was admiring this dark haired stranger she felt a sharp pain in the side of her head near her right ear. "Man, there's going to be a bruise there," she whined. As she held her head in pain a scrawny little kid with red hair and freckles came up to her.

"Hey lady, why didn't you get out of the way like we said?"

"Huh? Oh, I wasn't paying any attention. Sorry."

"What were you doing? Daydreaming?"

"Well, kinda. What's your name kid?"

"Oh, my name is Ben."

"Well, Ben, it's nice to meet you."

And then a voice from her right joined the conversation. "Are you bothering this beautiful young lady, Ben?"

"Oh no sir. I wasn't bothering her at all. I was just asking her why she got hit with the dodge ball, especially when we told her to move."

"Alright, but be a little nicer about it next time ok. Now go back to your game."

"Yes sir." Ben went back to his game with a strange little smirk on his face.

"He wasn't bothering you, was he?"

"Oh no not at all...um...am I supposed to call you sir? Cause I didn't catch a name."

"Well, that's because I didn't throw it at you." Arana was very confused. He said it with such a straight face that she couldn't tell whether or not he was serious. "Seriously, my name is Nicholas D. Wolfwood. But you can call me Wolfwood. What's yours?"

"My name is Arana."

"Well, Arana, it's nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand for a friendly hand shake, but instead he met her hand with a soft, gentle kiss.

Arana blushed, "The pleasure is all mine."

"So, how would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

Arana smiled slightly and looked at her feet. "I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I can't. I told my friends that I would have dinner with them tonight."

"Oh, ok. I see. You don't want to have dinner with me."

"No, no, no it's not that. Honest! I really want to have dinner. I just can't."

"I'm just teasing you. Don't worry about it. I'll take a rain-check. Or, if you want, you can find me here almost anytime of the day."

"Hhhmmm...Well, I guess that I will have to take you up on that"

"That sounds like a good idea. I will be looking forward to it."

Arana started walking away backwards with a big smile on her face. She struggled to keep her balance as she tripped over a metal bucket not far behind her. As she regained her balance her face turned bright red. "How embarrassing!" She turned around and ran away, leaving Wolfwood laughing at how cute she was.

When she turned a corner she stopped running to catch her breath. Then all of a sudden a body came flying out of the bar in front of her and stopped just short of her feet.

Arana got a really worried look on her face as she stepped over the body. As she studied the bar she realized what was going on and ran towards it. "Shit, Kena!"

**· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · **

Kena walked down the street pretty content, which is very surprising considering she got stuck with the bill. Kena looked around her after walking for a couple of blocks. "Well, everything seems to be OK," she says satisfactorily. "Now where's a bar?" She looked around some more, this time she got pretty mad. "Where the hell is a bar? I need a drink!"

Then a voice behind her says, "Geez, lady, calm down will ya. It's two blocks that way."

Kena turned around to see a short, light browned haired man with sun kissed skin pointing in one direction. "Thanks fella," she says with a smile on her face. Kena hurried off towards the bar before the man could say anything else.

**· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · **

Kena sat down at the bar with a content look on her face. Then the bartender asked, "What'll you have young lady?"

"Um...what kind of beer do you have?"

"I just have Black Cat beer."

"OK, I'll have some of that then."

"Yes ma'am."

Kena was sitting at the bar quietly when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a tall, red haired, green eyed man in missed matched clothes.

"Excuse me, but may I sit here."

"If you want to," she says with a shrug.

"So what's your name? I'm Larry."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Larry. But I'm not interested." Kena thought that she could mess with his mind a little without getting him pissed off. But it appeared that she thought wrong.

"I haven't even asked you anything yet. What makes you so sure that I like you?" He said frustratingly.

Kena smirked, "I wasn't born yesterday ya know."

"Oh, was that an insult?" He exclaimed yelling at her.

"Do you want it to be an insult?" She said sarcastically.

Larry's eyes started to appear like they were going to pop out of his head. "You cruel bitch, what is wrong with you?!"

"Wow! Someone can't take a little teasing."

"You weren't teasing, you sounded dead serious."

Then all of a sudden a crowd of men was around Kena like vultures waiting for their prey. "Seriously boys, I don't want to have to hurt you." Inside Kena was laughing at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

"Hurt us? You're just a woman. What damage can you do?"

Kena was really pissed off now. She really didn't want to hear that, and she thought that she didn't have to take that kind of abuse. "Just a woman huh?" she says with a kick to his face. As he fell to the ground Kena stood up straight. "Does anyone else want some?"

Then a strong, manly voice from the back of the crowd yelled out, "Yeah! I'll do it."

"Alright. Well step right up then."

He ran at Kena ready to attack. Then like outta nowhere he's on the ground outside of the bar. When he came to he was just a little confused. "Huh? What the hell happened?"

That's when Arana came in. "Kena, what are you doing? I thought that we weren't going to try to make trouble here."

"It's just a friendly fight, Arana," she said so innocently.

"Oh, yeah, sure it's friendly," Arana said sarcastically.

Then another voice out of the crowd said, "Alright lady! That's it! I've had enough. I'll finish this myself."

"Those are big words for such a little man," Kena said.

"Kena, do we have to do this? Ayashi is going to be really mad, plus I don't think that this is such a good idea."

Kena looked at Arana with glaring eyes. "Ok. If I can't talk you out of this..." Then she punched the man charging at them, and a fight began. At the end of it all the two girls walked through the saloon stepping over bruised and broken bodies as they went. When they got out to the street Arana said, "Lets go eat some dinner."

"That's the best idea that I've heard all day."

****

**_That's it for now.  Please read and review.  It would be greatly appreciated!_**


	5. Okaia's Mistake, Suspicions Arise

_This is chapter 4...written by the wonderful Melissa. Okaia manages to get herself into some trouble. Enjoy! Please read and review._

**Chapter IV**

**Okaia's Mistake, Suspicions Arise**

Okaia eagerly spun her head around in different directions. She was in the middle of a busy dusty road with bustling businesses all around her. In the crowd of people she disappointedly could not figure out which way to go. "Okaia! Slow down, will ya?" Ayashi called out. She looked ahead at the wild, bouncy redhead with more of a motherly affection for her youthful companion. Okaia was full of innocence yet had powerful energy and was a force to be reckoned with. _She doesn't realize sometimes just what consequences her actions have. Good thing I followed her._

"Okaia! C'mon! You aren't going to catch up with him! You don't even know which way he went! Besides, we have some exploring to do!" Ayashi merely stated what was already obvious to Okaia, who let out an exasperated sigh. Okaia had hoped to catch up with the really hot guy they had just been invited to dinner with. She had no desire to explore the town for information. Even though the bounty was important to everyone, she knew that she'd never be able to concentrate on the task at hand before dinner that night. No matter where she looked, Okaia kept seeing his gorgeous sea foam green eyes.

"But Ayashi! Everywhere I look there he is! I wish it was 7 o'clock right now!" Okaia looked at Ayashi with desperate pleading eyes, the kind that she knew would get her just the sympathy she desired.

Ayashi was not prepared for the sudden large moist pair of orchid eyes right in front of hers. _Oh no, not that look again! That baka! She's really laying it on thick this time._ "Look, maybe we should try to get the hotel back. Lawrence did say that he would let us stay another night. Even if we don't go back there after dinner, maybe you would like a place to relax for a bit. Let's go get the keys back and I will do a little investigating while you get a little beauty sleep. Besides, you probably want a place to beautify yourself before the long-awaited dinner tonight." Ayashi started to lead Okaia towards the hotel.

Just then Okaia said, "Aaaahhhh! This is so frustrating! How can he just appear like that and then disappear? He was right here and then he was gone! What is he, a freakin' magician? Oh, but those eyes could sure do some magic on me! And I bet he's got a great six-pack on him……… Ayashi, I can't believe this town has no place to buy guns! What kind of a place is this?" Ayashi toppled over at the abrupt and random change in subject. Okaia was notorious for a short attention span whenever she got distracted by her one true passion. Ayashi didn't know any other person who loved to study the mechanics of weapons as much as Okaia, and she swore that inside that imaginative and disorganized head was an encyclopedia of weaponry. That is one of the reasons that they all relied so much on Okaia, and all together they made quite a remarkable group. All of them secretly hoped that with this bounty they would not have met their match.

They arrived at the hotel soon after and retrieved the keys from Lawrence. Ayashi made sure to flash Lawrence a grateful, friendly smile before heading up the stairs. Okaia was on the bed lying on her back when Ayashi was prepared to head back out to hunt for more information on the bounty. "Behave yourself!" she warned Okaia before closing the door behind her. Okaia sat on the bed and stared out the window daydreaming. _Those eyes! That smile! I can picture it now…_ Okaia drifted off into blissful images of Vash looking with passion into her eyes, caressing her and whispering sweetly into her ear. And of course, there was "the kiss" that she could never get quite right in her fantasies of any guy. _Oh, if only Ayashi wouldn't get that look when she's around him! Of course, I always told her that she influenced my taste in guys, so she should consider it a complement anyway._ Okaia always had looked up to the other three like older sisters or motherly figures in her life, and of course Ayashi was more like the fearless leader, the diplomat of the group, so Ayashi tended to be a little soft with her. Okaia acted more immature around the others mostly because she could get away with it, and she didn't mind being a little babied by the others when she knew how much they went through to protect her. They knew how capable she was when she needed to be from the previous bounties they'd gotten together. And it was fun being the center of attention, but also she was grateful for time once in a while to sit alone for a bit. For now she would do what she did best, keeping the group's weaponry in tip-top shape. Besides, they needed good weapons to catch such a large and dangerous bounty. Okaia didn't realize that her one-track mind would eventually get the best of her.

After an hour of cleaning guns and knives and lying on the bed tossing and turning, Okaia said aloud, "Aaaahhhhh! I can't take it anymore! I am so bored!" Just then a glint of something shiny caught Okaia's attention. Okaia looked as the sun shined on a pile of guns still lying in the corner of the room.

The glint kept bothering Okaia. She closed her eyes and turned over on the bed trying to sleep, but she could still see the pile of guns in her mind. It was as if they were beckoning her to do something with them. She was very curious as to whether or not the town had a store to sell guns, or any weapons for that matter. Knowing that there was a pile of guns on the floor that could use tweaking made Okaia go crazy. It was like fingernails scratching down a chalkboard. Okaia decided that she would just leave for a bit and come back. No one would ever know that she'd been gone, and what trouble could she really cause merely looking for someone selling weapons? Any weapons in their possession would do nothing but good. The more weapons they had to fight bounties with, the better! Besides, Okaia was worried about their bounty since they had little factual information to fall back on in their search.

So with that, Okaia crept out of the room and locked the door as carefully as she could, even though she was the only one there. She ran down the hall, walked down the stairs and out the lobby so she wouldn't make Lawrence suspicious, and immediately started out at a fast pace. Okaia didn't even care that her wild red hair made it look like she'd just gotten up in the morning. Nothing would keep her from her frantic search now!

**· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · **

Ayashi wiped her hand across her forehead in an involuntary reaction to the intense heat from the sun beating down on her face. It seemed that she was getting nowhere in her search. Everyone in the repair shop said they knew nothing of a person like the $$60 billion bounty. She had spent a lot of time in there trying to coax people into giving out little bits of information, but for some reason, even her greatest and most luring charms couldn't work. Had she really lost her powerful persuasion techniques? Actually many of the people seemed to ignore her not because they didn't know but because they did know. _Well I'll be damned! They are actually so scared of him that they don't want to help anyone who might try to get rid of him! Is he really that terrible?_ Ayashi knew that he must be, for such a large bounty could only be built up on the head of a very dangerous and ruthless man. "I won't let anything get in my way!" Ayashi said out loud as a few onlookers in the streets gave her a weird look. She didn't seem to notice. "The answer I'm looking for has to be somewhere around here! I mean, how big is this town, anyway?"

Ayashi proceeded until she reached a restaurant called Henry's Hot Treats. She decided she would go inside and order something small so she wouldn't seem suspicious to the people here that were so afraid of the mere legend of the man. She peeked inside first through a small, smudged window and saw that not too many people were in there.

The door creaked as Ayashi pushed it open and stepped inside. The restaurant had somewhat dimmed lights and mellow music softly playing on speakers around the whole room. The atmosphere inside was much nicer than the misleading outer appearance. _Good,_ she thought, _this is a cozy environment. People shouldn't be too much on the edge. Time to turn up the charm!_ Ayashi saw a sign that said to wait to be seated. She sat on a long bench and waited for someone to notice her. It seemed that there was only one waitress working. Ayashi figured that this poor woman was really busy even though the restaurant wasn't. She saw a middle-aged man and woman enter and sit down at the other end of the bench. Ayashi saw her chance to strike up a casual, prying chat. "So!" Ayashi began, "Does this place serve good pie?"

The woman looked up. "Yes, great cherry pie, but not better than I can make!" she said with a laugh. "You might try the lemon meringue, but I actually prefer a different desert that isn't usually in restaurants. This place has the greatest donuts in the town! In fact, they are so popular that many people come in and just order a bag of donuts to take home."

At this Ayashi's eyes practically popped out of their sockets, and they began to appear more glazed than the donuts themselves. "Miss, are you okay?" the man asked.

Ayashi was silent for a moment, and then she shouted, "Alright, then! I guess I need to hurry and try those donuts. I… I can picture them already! I… I can smell them!" The couple gaped at Ayashi as her eyes grew large enough to actually look like donuts.

"Miss! Please! Calm down!" the man said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Ayashi returned to a normal stance and tried to look serious and focus on her task. She said quietly with a faux sadness in her voice, "It's just that with someone like the Humanoid Typhoon around, I figure I don't have much time left to enjoy such perfect delights!"

The woman stared in shock. "Well what an awful thought! My dear, no one is even sure if he is here! Right, Merve? He has blonde hair, but that's all they have as a guaranteed description," the woman stated.

Merve chimed in, "You know, he used to have that long red coat, but I guess he lost it. Maybe he finally got rid of it so he couldn't be identified. My friend is with the police and I have heard many rumors, and the biggest one is that he really hasn't killed anyone lately, but that doesn't make him any less ruthless. Maybe he just has to concentrate too much of his energy into evasion now that his bounty is so high, and everyone's heard of him and looking for him."

Ayashi looked at her watch and realized that even though the customers gave her some good info, she couldn't wait around to hear more. She couldn't believe that it was already after four. She desperately needed to get home and change. But she couldn't just leave such delicious sugarcoated treats for everyone else to eat. She decided to buy a large bag of fresh donuts on her way out.

**· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · **

Okaia's wild hair waved in all directions behind her as she bounced up and down streets excitedly with only one pleasure on her mind. But she knew enough to be sneaky, watching out for any of the others, especially Ayashi. No one had mentioned seeing a weaponry or blacksmith-type shop anywhere, but she was determined to find one if it existed. She anxiously searched for a sign that there was hope for this town after all when she noticed a simple wooden sign hanging out for everyone to see. "Yes! Guns!" Okaia squealed in excitement as she lunged to the door and tumbled into the store. She bounced all around, gawking like a child in a candy store. Guns of every shape, size, make, and model were displayed on every wall from floor to ceiling while small hand guns in glass cases were in the center of the store. There was also a separate side room with swords of every kind imaginable, but Okaia was more interested in the "good stuff" that consisted of the largest and most accurate guns she could find.

_Hmmm. None of these can match the range of my baby!_ Okaia thought. _But that one looks smoother. It's a quieter shot. And… does that one actually have a faster spring than mine? Wow! It does! And that one back there would be perfect to fight against our bounty with! And maybe the smaller one would be good for Arana or Ayashi to have._

Okaia went up to the counter. "Hi! I'd like to purchase a few of your guns!" she said in a friendly voice to a large, bald man with a red moustache and a scruffy beard. He looked down at Okaia and didn't smile. Okaia said, "Please, could you get down that long one there? And that smaller one off to the left?" She pointed at four guns she wished to purchase, but apparently this person wasn't used to friendly people in his store.

The man didn't move but glared at Okaia and said in a deep voice, "Whaddya thinks this is, some kind o' joke?"

Okaia looked hurt. "Sir, I am not joking. I really want to buy those guns!"

The man laughed at Okaia and said, "Listen, I ain't gonna' learn you to shoot. I don' just give out 'em lessons, and besides, I cain't sell more'n two guns at a time. Why don' you just git home, miss?"

Okaia gave him a glare. He could probably sell as many weapons as he wanted to whomever he thought deserved them. She changed her tone and replied, "Look, sir, I won't put up with you insulting me and saying I don't know how to fire a gun. I have a very good and noble reason for purchasing these guns and I would appreciate it if you would honor my request and trust that I can pay you all the money right here, right now."

Okaia stared at the man with pleading eyes but with a serious undertone, and he looked surprised, but then he changed to a softened tone and looked sympathetic toward Okaia. "Look, miss," he began, "I know that everyone is on th' edge 'bout that there Humanoid Typhoon. I'm sure you could kep any money you got with ya an' use it some other way, an' I'm touched by your noble cause, really I am. But I cain't let no one else innocent like you go out there unlearned an' become another victim to 'im. No one's bin able to catch 'im an' I don' thinks no one will soon. You'd just waste your time, your money, and prob'ly your life, all because that heartless bastard decided to go on a rampage." His entire face had hardened and tensed up.

Okaia was silent for a moment, feeling dejected that he didn't think she could handle a gun. Also, she didn't know much about the Humanoid Typhoon, but he was probably the bounty she and the other girls were after. But she couldn't blow their cover and tell him that now, especially when trying to buy several dangerous weapons. Okaia wondered if someone close to the man had tried something and gotten hurt somehow.

"Sir," Okaia said, "I must say that this isn't a lost cause. I honestly do know how to fire. I want the long one because it has such a sturdy and fast spring. The big gun up there has a smooth barrel and better accuracy. The smaller one is strong and loads easily. It has a little backfire to it and is off by ¾ of an inch, but that can be easily adapted to. The fourth gun is somewhat large for a handgun and has a very rapid, powerful shot. It has good range and will stay on course from very far away. Now please let me buy these skillfully made guns. I don't have all day to argue with you." Okaia decided not to mention that more likely than not she would end up scrapping at least two of them for parts anyway.

A look of complete shock and slight embarrassment came over the man's face. "Alright, ma'am," he said cautiously. He let Okaia buy all four guns without any more fuss, and he didn't even ask why she wanted the four guns. He looked a little nervous as he rang up the prices, and as Okaia left he stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes until she was lost in the crowd of local shoppers in the road. _Well,_ he thought nervously, _this won' be a borin' day after all!_ He let himself to collapse into a chair and heave a sigh of relief that the strange woman was gone.

**· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · **

It took awhile for Ayashi to convince herself to not touch her new bag of sweets until she got back to the hotel. She was awfully proud of herself. If the others asked really nicely, she might even let them have a half of one. _There! Now isn't that generous of me?_ Ayashi told herself. _Too bad I wasn't able to discover anything more important…_ But Ayashi at least had discovered that the bounty did indeed have blonde hair. That was at least a start.

Ayashi noticed with a slight disappointment that instead of Lawrence at the desk there was a middle-aged woman with short, wavy blonde hair and a lot of cheap perfume. Apparently Lawrence didn't run the hotel completely alone. Ayashi walked past as the woman filed her nails while looking bored but not anxious to get any more customers. _I sure hope Okaia didn't get into any trouble while I was gone_, thought Ayashi. Of course when she bought those donuts, she was still staying on task. Yeah, the others wouldn't want her deprived of sugar or else how could she be a fully efficient and fearless leader? Ayashi unlocked the door of 219 with the key she had gratefully retrieved from Lawrence earlier. Okaia had the key to room 217, so Ayashi knocked on her door.

Okaia answered the door but seemed a little jumpy. "Oh hi, Ayashi!" she said quickly. "Glad to see you're back! It's getting a little late, but we still have a while before dinner."

"Yeah, we do," Ayashi answered with a suspicious look in her eyes. Okaia certainly didn't look like she'd been sleeping at all. "So, how was it sitting in here bored with nothing to do but catch up on beauty sleep? See anything interesting out the window?" Ayashi asked. She knew Okaia wasn't the greatest liar in the world.

"Oh, I'm fine! Fine. Just fine. Nothing happening in here. Nope! Just polishing my weapons! Gee, I wish there was a weapons store in this town where I could find more polish," Okaia rambled nervously. Ayashi looked at her suspiciously for a moment and then softened her look. Apparently there had been no trouble the whole time. Besides, Ayashi wasn't in the mood to argue with Okaia after having such a long day that still had a long way to go.

"What's that you got there, Ayashi? That bag smells pretty good!" Okaia turned Ayashi's attention to the bag of donuts, which she had forgotten to set down in the other room.

"Oh…" Ayashi began, thinking of how to explain her purchase to Okaia, who definitely did not understand the lure of the tasty treats. "Well I thought I would buy some donuts for the… uh… good of the mission. Yeah, so everyone can have a little something." Reluctantly she shoved the bag toward Okaia. "Here," she offered the bag to Okaia. When Okaia took one she moaned audibly as the bag became one donut lighter.

"Gee, you don't have to be so nice about it," Okaia said with a frown on her face. She was going to criticize Ayashi's outlandish spending of their shrinking supply of money before she remembered her secret purchase. Of course her purchase really could help them. She decided that Kena would appreciate a handgun, and maybe the good spring could go in either Ayashi's gun or her own, with some adjustments, but that wouldn't be hard for Okaia to do. Her passion for guns rivaled Ayashi's love for donuts.

All thoughts were interrupted when Arana and Kena rushed in. "Geez!" Arana began, "It took you long enough to let me know we were coming back here to get ready!" Kena went straight for the room she had shared with Ayashi and Ayashi followed looking apologetic. The four of them dug through bags of clothes and makeup and hairpins in their rooms, looking for that perfect accent for the evening. Arana continued talking to Okaia. "I mean, we were wondering where we were going to be able to get ready before leaving, and then I realized that you two were together somewhere…"

"Oops! Must have slipped our minds!" Okaia said. "Sorry, but now you have time to get ready here!"

"Well we didn't find out much anyway. But I've discovered that there are a lot of rude men in town. What did you discover?" Arana caught Okaia off-guard. She didn't want to tell anyone about her little excursion. They could learn about that later when it wouldn't make them so mad.

"Oh, uh… I just stayed here the whole time while Ayashi went out. I cleaned guns, laid on the bed, you know, stuff like that!" Arana could tell that Okaia was nervous and probably hiding something but she didn't want to pry. Besides, she figured that if there were a problem it would unfortunately reveal itself soon. Okaia quickly blurted out, "She bought a huge bag of donuts!" Arana was amused at Okaia's attempt to get suspicion off of herself. _Well whatever it is I sure hope it doesn't ruin our dinner tonight. Aaaahhhh! I need to dig out a better outfit!_ Okaia was just as frantic about her own outfit, looking for the most flattering skirt she had brought with her. This was the time to make a good impression.

While Okaia was making an obvious effort to make herself stand out, Ayashi was shyly rooting through her things to find the best compliment to her cute navy top. "By the way," Kena said to Ayashi when they were getting ready, "Arana and I already had a little something to eat. There was this big group of rude men at the bar and after dealing with them I really worked up an appetite! Besides, we'll see how well this clown can cook tonight." Kena was still skeptical about what they were about to do. Who knew how much this guy really knew, and this would be one more unproductive night. Kena wanted to help everyone stay on task since the fearless leader seemed a little preoccupied.

Ayashi tried to keep her composure although she was appalled that such a handsome and perfect man could be called a clown even by Kena. But there was no time to argue. Very quickly the suns began to set off in the distance, and Ayashi heard a mother yelling to her son in the street that it was after 7 and he should be inside. An inward panic slowly crept over her. "Kena! Oh my god! What time is it?" Ayashi startled Kena, who found a small wall clock in the hall reading 7:17. "I must have set my watch to the wrong time! I was off by an hour! Oh no, we're already late!" Ayashi ran into the hall wearing a bra and underwear and one black sandal and proceeded to pound fiercely on the door to room 217.

"Okaia! Arana! We're late! Hurry up!" Ayashi shouted through the door. Okaia looked mortified and rushed to finish getting ready, at last grabbing her coat and chasing after them while they all rushed down the hall, making quite a spectacle of themselves to the other guests. They decided it was best not to frantically run through the streets, so they had to resort to a seemingly time-consuming walking pace.

**· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · **

While everyone headed down the road towards Vash's house, Okaia stopped to look at a picture of a rifle hanging in a window of one of the many stores surrounding them on their way. She frowned when she realized that it was a toy popgun. "Okaia! C'mon!" Kena called. Arana recognized the boy named Ben from earlier. He was running to the toy store but stopped and smiled when he saw her. She smiled and waved at him as she walked by. "Hey guys, I think I see Vash in the distance heading towards us because we're late!" Kena called back to them. She was being honest, but she also knew that it would get Okaia to hurry better than anything else.

Okaia rushed to catch up to them, but in her clumsy hurry she failed to see the strange little black cat in the road staring at her as she tripped over it. When she hit the ground, Okaia's four new toys fell out along with her large quick-fire machine gun. They were sprawled out on the ground in a pile. Arana winced in pity for Okaia since she knew what was coming.

Ayashi asked in a curious voice, "Okaia, where did you get all this?" She thought she knew, but she had to be sure. Okaia remained silent, staring nervously at her feet. She absent-mindedly scratched the back of her neck in awkward silence, something she always did when guilty. "Oh, no. Don't tell me you went on a shopping spree!" Okaia still remained silent. "Dammit, Okaia! We don't have the money for that! Besides, when will you get time to tinker? Huh?"

This time Okaia spoke up with a voice raised in self-defense. "Well they're really good ones! One has a great range and aim, this one has a fast spring, and Kena, I thought you'd like this quick-load if I could teach you to account for its discrepancies and inaccuracy. Besides, I mostly just wanted the parts to improve everyone's weapons! Do you know how much they could help us get our bounty faster and get home?"

At that moment Arana shot a warning look at Okaia while Ayashi shot back, "Well I don't care if you saw a freakin' unicorn with psychedelic wings and a plasma cannon coming out of its ass! You rea-"

But Okaia interrupted, "Plasma cannon? Ooooo! But I didn't see anything like that!"

"Shut up! I'm trying to tell you why you can't blow all our money away on junk!"

"Junk? Junk? It's not junk! Besides, how many donuts did you buy for the 'good of our mission'? Huh?"

Arana politely interrupted them, "Guys, you're starting to cause a scene! People are starting to stare. Okaia, pick up your weapons before someone sees them and gets suspicious. They're already overly cautious around strangers." Arana's eyes pleaded with her with a worried look on her face.

Okaia knew how important this mission was to everyone, and she had almost ruined it all for them in a few seconds of yelling. Okaia stared at the different-sized guns sprawled out at her feet, and as she did she began to sense that a large crowd was interested in what these strange newcomers were yelling about, not to mention the fact that her pile of guns would draw even more negative attention. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she swiftly scooped up her new weapons and stashed them in her cape. She flashed a quick, sad look of shame and immense apologies at the other three.

Kena was about to tell Okaia that there was probably no damage done when Vash walked up to the group as the small crowd dissipated. Okaia stood up as quickly as she could. "Ladies! Hey! You actually came!" he said. Then he eyed Ayashi's donuts. "Oh, are these for me? Wow! You didn't have to get me anything!" He stuffed a few in his mouth. "Thanks! These are really good! How thoughtful of you!" Ayashi gave Vash an eternally evil glare as he turned his head to grab more of her donuts. He didn't though, and Ayashi was wondering how he could notice her glaring at him when she saw the real reason that he had stopped.

Vash would have grabbed more donuts if Okaia hadn't suddenly grabbed his arm. _Oh, no. She has that look in her eyes_, Kena thought. Ayashi had no choice but to grab his other arm just to make sure Okaia didn't get overly possessive and flirty with him. _After all, such a kind and sexy person shouldn't be put through such childish antics_, she thought.

Okaia said, "Oh, I hope you don't feel like we're intruding! I just wanted to get to know the people in town, and you were just so… nice!"

Vash responded enthusiastically, "Oh, don't worry about it! Let's go back to my house then for the wonderful dinner I've planned! You can even meet a friend of mine there, and you don't have to be so polite!" While Ayashi gave Okaia a glare, Arana picked up the bag of donuts that seemed to have slipped from Ayashi's arms when she grabbed Vash.

Okaia tugged on both sides of her cape with her left hand, _better make sure all the loot is secure this time,_ then she proceeded to "trip" and fall forward. "Oh!" she cried. Vash had no choice but to save her from hitting the ground by wrapping both arms around her and pulling her back to her feet. "Oh, I'm just so clumsy sometimes! I'm sorry," Okaia said.

"Hey, you don't have to be sorry!" Vash replied. Ayashi thought, _he seemed awfully reluctant to let her go. Damn that Okaia!_ She grabbed Vash's arm again and he led them off to his house with Arana following.

Kena stayed behind them all, deep in thought. _Look at him. This is ridiculous! Do they really think he'll have useful information? Or is that just an excuse to visit him? If you ask me, that tale he told us earlier is a complete lie… and how good of an opportunity did he have to notice Okaia's new stash? He certainly didn't react. I wonder if he really didn't see or if he's up to something. How much did he see and hear? And then again, he did react pretty quickly when Okaia "fell" back there…_

Kena continued to follow the others down the dusty desert road toward Vash's house, and she decided to try to put her bad mood and her suspicions aside for the sake of the task at hand. She did keep a close eye on Vash for the rest of the trek, though. Besides, she was pretty hungry, and hopefully they were walking both to their dinner and to some answers for everyone's questions.

_So, what did you think? Don't forget to review...it would be greatly appreciated!_


End file.
